Barry Farm

It is really hard to find anything to get excited about in this neighborhood located in southeast section of the city and is the home to approximately 2,964 residents. In general, Barry Farm is bordered by the Anacostia Freeway and the Suitland Parkway. In 2010 the average price for a home sold in the neighborhood was $100,750, with only 9% of the homes being owner occupied. The homes here are all multifamily apartments or condominiums. There are few commercial businesses located within the neighborhood.

Birney Elementary School is the only school with in the neighborhood. Residents may enjoy the Barry Farm Recreation Center, which is located next to the school. There are no restaurants here and only a couple of convenience stores. Other than that residents will need to go out of the neighborhood for any substantial shopping. Residents find numerous Metro Bus stops in the neighborhood as well as two places of worship.

Crime is a huge problem here according to recent crime statistics. Crimes against people and property are common with a homicide, numerous robberies and sexual assaults occurring recently. As always check the most recent crime statistics to make an informed decision as to the crime risk in any neighborhood. As far as Barry Farm is concerned, many will want to pass of it. It is a real shame that many really good people are forced to live in an environment like this due to their economic circumstances.

Barry Farm has a horrible problem: it is called unemployment and an annual average income barely above the cost of rent. Perhaps the poorest neighborhood in the District, there is crime and drugs everywhere. when you get home at night, you have to lock your doors. Otherwise, you risk falling victim to one of a plethora of burglaries which take place every month. And not just your stereo is in danger: Berry Farm being the "projects," there are plenty of rapes and murders there as well.

Worse still, there are few amenities in the neighborhood: nothing larger than the occasional store, and many residents have to leave just to buy adequate supplies for the week. There is very little green space. Overall, this neighborhood is full of gangs and despair. The schools are terrible, and not very many residents have high school diplomas. Like many poorer neighborhoods in DC, there are some government buildings but this doesn't help the economy of the area too much, because there aren't many places to eat and the residents are usually underqualified for jobs in the building. I hear this is supposed to change soon, but with the housing crisis in low income neighborhoods, I don't see much reason to be optimistic.

Barry Farm's history is one of many good intentions that have paved a road to perdition for most of its residents. Once part of a farm owned by James Barry, the area was divided into homesteads for freed African Americans after the Civil War. Unfortunately, prejudice and Jim Crow laws prevented those former slaves from making the most of their opportunities. A pattern of decline continued for a century, leading the city of Washington to raze most of the original homes and build one of the nation's largest housing projects on the land. This only made bad matters worse, and resulted in the area developing a reputation as one of the most crime ridden neighborhoods in the country.
The one positive of this neighborhood is its close proximity to St. Elizabeth Hospital. This means that residents have access to health care that they might otherwise be denied because of the difficulty and expanse of making a doctor’s visit. It should also be noted that, in spite of numerous hardships, several residents have also been able to make it out of the neighborhood through developing their basketball skills as members of the neighborhood's Goodman League.